100+ Head-Fier

Dear All,
Also, I've read about long waiting lines but the Massdrop site says there' available for direct purchase. Can I receive it this December?

Thank you in advance.

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This item has become a massdrop made ready stock item so you don't have to worry about the shipping time as long as you are inside the US. I bought one through a friend in the US on 24th November, Received on 2nd December.

Head-Fier

This item has become a massdrop made ready stock item so you don't have to worry about the shipping time as long as you are inside the US. I bought one through a friend in the US on 24th November, Received on 2nd December.

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Thanx! Yes, I'm planning to buy this one through a friend in the US who's going our way soon.

Head-Fier

I was planning to buy Violectric V200 (well, frankly speaking, it's Chinese clone), but upon noticing this amp from THX I'm wondering if I should lean toward this one. The problem is that V200 I have listened with my ears and this one I only read reports on the web. Is it worth going to THX 789 over V200 if I will be listening to it thought HE400i headphones? The source will be a portable DAC for now (Opus 1s).

Also, I've read about long waiting lines but the Massdrop site says there' available for direct purchase. Can I receive it this December?

Thank you in advance.

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I know nothing about the V200, but I do have 2 THX AAA 789s. Really like the amp, flexible, nice design and the sound seems to be very accurate compared to the source. Massdrop should have these in stock, but if you absolutely want it in December I'd order it with expedited shipping and then mentally prepare yourself for failure. Massdrop is not known for outstanding shipping speeds.

Head-Fier

I know nothing about the V200, but I do have 2 THX AAA 789s. Really like the amp, flexible, nice design and the sound seems to be very accurate compared to the source. Massdrop should have these in stock, but if you absolutely want it in December I'd order it with expedited shipping and then mentally prepare yourself for failure. Massdrop is not known for outstanding shipping speeds.

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Thank you for your information on shipping. My friend is going to my country only in January, so no problem with him receiving it after holidays. Why would you need two of them, btw? )

Headphoneus Supremus

V200 is more expensive, more difficult to order and has no balanced output (as well as pass through one). Are they so different in the signature? In what way, can you describe?

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Sounds like you are working towards getting the THX AAA 789. The amp must have the features you need of course. Do you need balanced output or pass through it´s a given not to go with the V200.

Long time since I had the V200 it had more of a v-shaped signature I felt but will not go into details more then it really does have a clear signature. And if you really liked it it may suit you better. Of course the only way to know is to get one and compare

Head-Fier

Sounds like you are working towards getting the THX AAA 789. The amp must have the features you need of course. Do you need balanced output or pass through it´s a given not to go with the V200.

Long time since I had the V200 it had more of a v-shaped signature I felt but will not go into details more then it really does have a clear signature. And if you really liked it it may suit you better. Of course the only way to know is to get one and compare

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Well, yeah, it would like someone to just tell me to grab THX 789 instead of V200. ))) I did like the sound of V200 (to be correct, Accurate Audio HPA A200, a Chinese clone of Violectric V200) but the thing is that it is the only headphone amp I ever listened to. I'm a rookie in the headphone department, used to listen through my floor standing speakers only before. My portable DAC Opus 1s is a bit V-shaped, so maybe that would be already enough to make my gear sound more involving and less clinical. I guess there is no way for me to check this but to listen to it by myself, yes. Thank you for your assistance, though.

The problem is that Chinese clone of V200 is 430 USD in my city and the only option to buy cheaper is to go for a refurbished unit in China, which would involve complicated logistics and a risk of buying a poorly restored unit. People were complaining about the varied quality of those clones. Buying original Violectric is out of scope due to its price for me. Having balanced is not a critical thing but I would like to get it to have maximum power to my 400i. Having pre-amp option is a benefit for the future mostly, so not critical.

500+ Head-Fier

Buying original Violectric is out of scope due to its price for me. Having balanced is not a critical thing but I would like to do it to have maximum power to my 400i. Having pre-amp option is a benefit for the future mostly, so not critical.

Head-Fier

Thank you for your information on shipping. My friend is going to my country only in January, so no problem with him receiving it after holidays. Why would you need two of them, btw? )

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Good question.....My home office has my desk, where one is located and gets the most use. The second one is about 10ft away and is for use when I'm on my exorcise bike, which I log time on daily. They both connect to my Yggy and are controlled by Roon.

100+ Head-Fier

Joined:
Jun 14, 2009

Posts:
185

Likes: 20

Received mine. I don't have much impression other than it's a solid SS amp that seems way too good for its price. Compare to my SPL Phonitor, the only thing that I noticed it's FAST. It does imaging slightly differently. This little thing is easily matching my SPL in power and clarity.

Pros:
- drive THREE headphones at the same time as long as you are not exceeding the electrical capabilities of the amp. Do your own math before you plug in three ultra-low impedance headphones: 1/Rtotal = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3
- Line pass-through without powering the amp on
- black background. should be fine for your IEMs

Cons:
- Volume pot does not go completely silent
- Super low volume has channel imbalance
- Gain1 position has a crosstalk issue. Probably not audible in most cases, but people have noticed it.

100+ Head-Fier

I think a better pot or a lower gain would have been nice. In my case it’s louder than I would like when the channels get balanced. The single ended output has a lower gain but I feel it sounds better using the balanced output.

100+ Head-Fier

Received mine. I don't have much impression other than it's a solid SS amp that seems way too good for its price. Compare to my SPL Phonitor, the only thing that I noticed it's FAST. It does imaging slightly differently. This little thing is easily matching my SPL in power and clarity.

Pros:
- drive THREE headphones at the same time as long as you are not exceeding the electrical capabilities of the amp. Do your own math before you plug in three ultra-low impedance headphones: 1/Rtotal = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3
- Line pass-through without powering the amp on
- black background. should be fine for your IEMs

Cons:
- Volume pot does not go completely silent
- Super low volume has channel imbalance
- Gain1 position has a crosstalk issue. Probably not audible in most cases, but people have noticed it.

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Do you mean that when turning the volume all the way down that you can still hear audio playing? Also what is crosstalk? I've seen some people mention that the SE headphone jack is not very powerful compared to balanced? I have an Aune X7S and for now I'm using the SE for my headphones. With my HD6XX I have it on low gain with the volume knob at just shy of 12 noon. That's plenty loud for me.

100+ Head-Fier

Do you mean that when turning the volume all the way down that you can still hear audio playing? Also what is crosstalk? I've seen some people mention that the SE headphone jack is not very powerful compared to balanced? I have an Aune X7S and for now I'm using the SE for my headphones. With my HD6XX I have it on low gain with the volume knob at just shy of 12 noon. That's plenty loud for me.

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1. Yes, with the volume all the way down, you can still hear music playing
2. Crosstalk refers the signal leaking between left and right channels
3. For this amp, the balanced XLR out is more powerful than SE. Depends on the amp.